The top reported proficiency rate is 100% in Science. The lowest is 81% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Horace Mann Middle
Horace Mann Middle is a now-closed school in Neenah, Wisconsin, that operated within the Neenah Joint School District. The state’s directory marks it as a regular public school that served middle-grade students, though the precise grade span is listed simply as “M through M.” Its lifecycle status is closed, which means the building no longer houses students. The school’s recent state assessment results from the 2022-23 school year provide a snapshot of its final academic profile, but with important caveats about the size of tested groups.
State test data is available for math, English language arts, science, and social studies at select grade levels. Two patterns emerge. In grades four and five, the school’s tested cohorts were very small. Those groups posted a perfect proficiency rate, meaning every student tested met or exceeded the state standard. The small number of students tested in those grades means the results reflect a narrow slice of the student body, not a representative picture of the whole school. In grade six, by contrast, a much larger group of students took the assessments. In math, about half of those students reached proficiency. In English language arts, just under half did. Those results give a more typical view of the school’s academic standing for its primary grade level. No test data exists for grades seven or eight, which may reflect the school’s grade configuration or the timing of its closure.
The data does not include enrollment counts, free-or-reduced-price lunch rates, race and ethnicity breakdowns, special education or English learner populations, or staffing information. That gap makes it difficult to describe the school’s peer environment or student supports from this record alone. A parent seeking a fuller picture would need to look into the district’s current offerings, as the school itself is no longer operational.
The school sat within the Neenah Joint School District, which covers the city of Neenah, a community on the shores of Lake Winnebago and the Fox River. Neenah blends residential neighborhoods with a notable manufacturing base, including paper and electronics companies. It is part of the Fox Cities metro area, a fast-growing part of Wisconsin. The city has a compact downtown with riverfront parks, a seasonal farm market, and trail connections. Housing in the area has shown moderate appreciation in recent years, and rents have kept pace with local incomes.
The district itself recently underwent a major facilities and grade-configuration overhaul. A referendum passed in 2020 funded a new high school, which opened for the 2023-24 school year and was described at the time as the most modern high school in the state. The referendum also reconfigured grade levels: a middle school now serves grades seven and eight, an intermediate school serves grades five and six in the former high school building, and elementary schools serve kindergarten through grade four. The district had carried no long-term debt before the referendum, and its property tax rate remained among the lowest in the Fox Valley area even after the borrowing.
Horace Mann Middle’s closure fits into this broader reorganization, though the data does not specify the exact reason or timing. For families considering the Neenah district today, the school referenced here is not a current option. The district’s active middle and intermediate schools now follow the new structure, and recent test results from those buildings would provide a more relevant measure of current academic performance. The available record on Horace Mann Middle is a historical one, useful mainly as a reference point for understanding how the district’s facilities and grade configuration have changed.
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